Health agency advises taking steps to prevent spread of MERS virus

By
Staff The Canadian Press

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This undated electron microscope image made available by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - Rocky Mountain Laboratories shows novel coronavirus particles, also known as the MERS virus, colorized in yellow.

It also says appropriate screening of patients presenting with cough and fever must include a travel history, not only of the patient, but of anyone around the patient who may have travelled in the previous 10-14 days.

The agency further says patients presenting with suspected or confirmed MERS infection must be assessed in a timely manner and placed on special precautions.

In the U.S., three people have been diagnosed with an infection from MERS.

An American doctor who came to Canada after being exposed to the virus in a Florida hospital where one of the patients was being treated was allowed to return home after testing negative for the disease.

Since the first known MERS infections occurred two years ago, roughly 650 cases have been reported by 19 different countries.